I used the bbmenu button to see what programs are running in the background,and i have the big5( browser,bbmessenger,home screen,messages and phone) plus appy center. I have tried to close app. center but its still there running(taking up mem.) what is the process for stopping it from running in the background. 2nd noob question: are there any risks in openning an infected(virus) email on the storm(or any bb device)?

I don't know if you "need" the app center for any of the apps which are in there (I don't use any of them)... I deleted the App center from Options->Advanced->Applications. I haven't noticed any problems w/ anything since then... I tend to remove all the crap I won't ever use, no use in having it clutter up my device. I know where to get it if I need it anyways (DM). As much as I like Google Maps, the fact it's a pain to get GPS working may cause it to be next on my firing squad...

There are 4 apps which you can't truly close. "Home" - the home page, "Browser" - even if you aren't browsing it's running - but if you have an autoreload page, it could load in the background, "Messages" & "Phone" - I think those are always running so you can accept calls and emails... There are other "hidden" applications as part of the OS which are always running and you can't (or shouldn't) necessarily get rid of them (like the event viewer).